As the Indianapolis Colts prepare to enter the season, ESPN believes head coach Frank Reich will be on the hot seat entering year five.
Despite a couple of recent unfortunate injuries, the Indianapolis Colts have had a promising offseason. They upgraded at quarterback by bringing in Matt Ryan and they fortified the defense with Stephon Gilmore and Yannick Ngakoue. With all of the talented players on the roster, the Colts enter the season with high expectations.
Those expectations are reflected in offseason power rankings. Across several rankings, Indianapolis is consistently ranked in the top half of the league and several experts expect Indy to be a factor in the postseason. Most recently, ESPN released a power ranking following the two preseason games.
The Colts were ranked at No. 14, the same position ESPN listed Indy in the post-draft ranking. However, ESPN went a step further to name someone from each team that’s on the hot seat entering the season. For Indianapolis, that person is head coach Frank Reich.
Frank Reich and the Colts have high expectations
ESPN’s Stephen Holder expressed that Reich isn’t in immediate “jeopardy of being fired,” but he did say, “The Colts have what they believe is the best team of his tenure, and owner Jim Irsay is growing increasingly impatient…If the Colts fall short again, Reich will find himself on thin ice.” This is a fair assessment by Holder.
Throughout Reich’s first four seasons, he hasn’t necessarily been dealt the best hand. He has had talented players but he has also had a new starting quarterback every season. Despite that, Reich has compiled a 37-28 record and led Indy to two postseasons, winning just one playoff game in 2018.
Now, it’s time for the Colts to achieve more under Reich. Reich is still seeking his first conference championship and excuses are limited as Indy enters this season as the favorite to win the AFC South. Indianapolis has a solid quarterback, and the front office has done a good job to build the rest of the roster. While it’s not a perfect roster, it’s more than enough for Frank Reich to lead the team to a division championship and for them to make noise in the postseason. Anything less than that will lead to Reich’s position being questioned.
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